Did God answer a comedian’s prayer through a prophetic word at Starbucks?

An employee working at a Starbucks’ drive thru provided an incredible answer to prayer for comedian Victoria Jackson revealing that God does hear our prayers and will use spiritual gifts to confirm it.

Jackson, 58, gained fame working as a comedian and singer for Saturday Night Live, a late night comedy show that debuted in 1975 and routinely runs parodies of culture and politics. Famous for her ukulele, she was a regular contributor to SNL from 1986 to 1992 where she performed skits, some involving impersonations of Rosanne Barr.

Jackson came from a Christian home and attended Florida Bible College in Hollywood, Florida before moving on to Furman University in South Carolina after receiving a gymnastic scholarship and then to Auburn University where she majored in theater.

Jackson’s gym-coach father had trained his daughter in gymnastics, a training that she utilized on screen doing back flips on SNL and reciting poetry while doing hand stands.

The comedian refers to herself as a conservative Christian and even sent her children to a Christian school.

However, Jackson put her career on hold for about 20 years when she moved to Miami to raise her children and further her husband’s career as a helicopter pilot for the police taking only an occasional role.

About four years ago, she and her husband moved to Nashville. In a video interview, as part of Charisma’s series on Hope Through Cancer hosted by Marti Pieper, Jackson told her story of the Starbucks’ encounter.

Though Jackson had made the decision to step away from her career, she had doubts about whether she made the right decision. During a time of prayer, shortly after her family’s arrival in Nashville, Jackson asked God:

“Am I doing the right thing? …. Do you like know how I am living for you?”

The very next day, as Jackson was picking up her order at a Starbucks’ drive-thru, the man at the till with several Jesus’ tattoos on his arm asked Jackson if he could pray for her. Jackson said it was more prophetic than prayer. He prayed:

“You have been faithful in your relationships, and your family is in a season of rest. Opportunities will come that were put on hold because of circumstances.”

Jackson believes God used this prophetic word to answer her prayer the night before and to encourage Jackson God was in control, and though older, God still had plans for her.

Two years after that prophetic word, Jackson was diagnosed with breast cancer and having gone through successful treatment, now two years later she is on the road to recovery. Jackson believes that the season of rest spoken about in that prophetic prayer was preparation for her battle with cancer.

It reminds me of a story in the Gospels involving Nathanael. Philip had been telling Nathanael about Christ, but he was skeptical and even mocked Philip by stating “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

But Nathanael agreed to meet Christ and as they approached the Lord, Jesus who had been filled with the Holy Spirit told Nathanael that he was without guile. When Nathaniel asked the Lord how He knew him, Jesus replied with a word of knowledge:

“I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” (John 1:48 NASV)

Because of this, Nathanael realized that he was in the presence of the Messiah and responded:

49 … “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” (John 1:49 NASV)

Jesus wants believers to operate with these same spiritual gifts today (John 14:12).

The hero for me in the Jackson story is the person working at Starbucks who had enough courage to step out and give this prophetic word. Many years back, I was at a mall and felt God give me a word for a man sitting on a bench, probably waiting for his wife.

The word was simply that God saw the man and was calling him and more specifically that God had heard his Christian wife’s prayer for him.

Of course, I went through all the mind gymnastics, what if I was wrong, and eventually talked myself out of it. But to this day, I regret not giving this word. So I appreciate the courage of this unknown Starbucks’ barrister to minister publicly with his spiritual gifting.